Fork in the Road
by Kizsoi
Summary: Aurelia McKenzie is the new student at Hogwarts and, even though she's a Griffindor, seems to be the new Ice Princess. She's also hopelessly torn between the Ice Prince himself, Draco Malfoy, and joker Fred Weasley, the only one able to make her smile.
1. Meeting on a Train

**Disclaimer: **_Everything (apart from the OC Aurelia) belongs to JK Rowling._

_This is my first FanFic, so please be gentle :) Constructive critisism is welcome.  
_

_It's just the intro, the next chapter will be a bit longer, I promise._

_If you like this, then I'll post it. :)_

_Enjoy! And please review._

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**_Chapter one: Meeting on a train

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_**With a last, sweeping glance around the crowded train station, Aurelia McKenzie borded the waiting train. In that glance, she saw people of various ages, tears in their eyes and waving to their loved ones, wondering how long it would be untill they saw them again. In that glance, she saw many people, but none that she either knew or recognised.

But the fact that nobody had come to see her off didn't bother Aurelia. In fact, it suited her just fine. No teary goodbyes. She hated scenes like that, like the ones she had just witnessed on platform nine and three-quarters.

Aurelia felt her eyes prickle as they started to tear up, betraying both her calm composure and hidden emotion. So maybe she was bothered, if just slightly. But she was a McKenzie. She would deal with it.

Once aboard the train, Aurelia pushed passed the crowds of students to find an empty compartment.

She wanted to put off having to talk to anyone for as long as possible. _So_ she was going to a boarding school, Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry to be exact, but that didn't mean she actually had to talk to anybody, did it? Maybe, just maybe, as she was starting school in what would be her fifth year, the other students would just ignore her?

She clung to that thought. That hope.

Aurelia had never been very good with people, could never interact with them properly. A boarding school was her worst nightmare. But that was the way her cards had been dealt, and so that was that.

After a few minutes of pushing herself along the train, Aurelia finally found an empty compartment. She almost sighed with relief as she opened the door and plonked herself down by the window. For a moment she had thought that she would actually have to share with other students; awkwardly knocking on the door, asking if that seat was taken, then sitting down, trying to scoot as far away from the person beside her as possible, keeping her eyes fixed elsewhere.

But that scenario seemed almost welcoming to her as she looked out of the window, at the same scene that had made her go all teary-eyed and pathetic earlier. She shook her head, roughly, as if trying to get the image out of her head.

"No... no, I will not break down."

Taking in deep gulps of air Aurelia managed to calm herself before she started to cry again.

Once she could feel the gentle motion of the train, indicating that it was now moving, Aurelia rested her head against the back of her seat, and let that same gentle motion rock her to sleep.

*****

"Dracooo... Draco!?"

_'For Merlin's sake, not again.'_

They weren't even at school yet and already Pansy was doing his head in.

"Draco, darling? Where are you going?"

"For a walk," he growled. And with that, Draco Malfoy left the compartment he was sharing with his fellow Slytherins; Crabbe and Goyle, who looked extremely confused by his departure, Blaise Zabini, who was staring out the window, completely uninterested in what was going on around him, and Pansy, who was apparently still shrieking at him.

Not looking where he was going, and not really caring, either, Draco pushed his way down the train and barged into what seemed like an empty compartment.

Once inside, however, he found that it was not. On one of the furthest away seats slept a girl around his own age, about average height, he guessed, though he couldn't really tell with her sitting down. She was very pretty.

The girl was already in her school uniform, which allowed Draco to admire her curvy figure. The blouse hugged her body nicely, and her skirt was hitched up, revealing more flesh than was deemed modest, due to the girl fidgeting in her sleep. Her hair, short and purple, was cut into a sharp bob under her rather pointy chin. She had lovely, full lips, and high cheekbones, with a small silver hoop through the side of her nose and light brown freckles, speckled across her face.

And they weren't _Weasley_ freckles either. They made her look almost cute.

Then he caught sight of red and gold thread on the girls uniform, which he had previously missed while assessing her looks.

"Griffindor"

Draco frowned. No matter how pretty the girl was, she was tainted, merely by the fact that she was in _that_ house. The same house as _Potter_, not to mention the Weasel and Mudblood.

Though he had to admit, tainted as she was, Draco was tempted.

She was exactly his type. Curvy, and with a "creative appearance", as Blaise would call it. He hated girls who were too thin, too blond, too mainstream.

Girls like Pansy.

Taking a seat as far away from the girl as he could manage, Draco deliberatley let his mind wander to other things.

Hell, he would take the devil over Pansy any day.

*****

The moment he heard the crash, Fred sprinted, followed closely by his mother's screams.

As a goodbye present to their mother, Fred and George Weasley had decided to play one last prank before leaving for school. They had done it on the platform, hoping to run onto the train before their mother caught them. But although Fred had managed, George wasn't so lucky.

Fred chuckled. _'Oh well, suppose it's payback for the last time he ran out away after a prank, leaving me to get all the blame.'_

They were early, and very few students were on the train yet, so Fred managed to find a compartment easily.

It was _their_ compartment, the one that he and George had used since their first year in Hogwarts, and cooked up most of their plans in. This would be their seventh and final year at Hogwarts, and he would miss it.

Deciding to play yet another prank, this time on his unsuspecting brother, Fred stowed himself away in the overhead luggage space, closing the creaky door behind him. When George came in, he would jump out, hopefully momentarily scaring him.

Fred chuckled to himself again, but this time more mischievously.

Around ten minutes later Fred heard the door to the compartment open rather warily, and the squeak of the seats telling him whoever had come in had sat down. He got himself ready to fling from his hiding place, hand poised at the door of the luggage space, ready to fling it open.

But then he heard the unmistakable sound of a girls voice.

"No... no, I will not break down!"

That wasn't George. And the train was starting to move now, rocking him back and forth in the luggage space. Their mother must be giving him a sterner talking-to than usual, keeping him back. But what was he to do? Wait here? It was awfully cramped. After all, he hadn't planned on being in there for more then a few minutes.

In the end, Fred decided to wait for George, hoping that he would come in soon and chase the girl out, so he could finally go ahead with his prank.

Around another fifteen minutes later, Fred heard the door open yet again and got ready to fling himself from his hiding space. Again.

But the voice he heard speak, and which rooted him to the spot, was again not that of George, but of Malfoy.

"Griffindor"

Wait, that was him. He was a Griffindor. He couldn't have spotted him, surely? But then Fred remembered the girl who had come in earlier. And it made sense. She must be a Griffindor.

Though the word was said with distaste, Fred heard no reply from the girl, and Malfoy spoke to further, either. Instead, Fred heard a second squeak, as Malfoy sat down, too, indicating that he was staying.

_'Oww Fred you really mucked this one up, didn't you? I bet George knew, somehow, that I would do this, and let these people come in here on purpose so that I would stay in here. Yea, I bet he's having a right old laugh at me now.'_

So Fred decided to wait, still, either until George finally came to find him, or until they reached Hogwarts. Whichever came first. Bursting out now and making a scene would only make George laugh more.

However, it seemed as though that was not how Fred's cards were dealt, as just as he was thinking how lucky it was that neither the girl or Malfoy had decided to stow any luggage away overhead, the train shuddered to a halt, throwing everything forward, including Fred.

He was launched out of his hiding space and onto the middle of the floor, between a bewildered girl, with extraordinary purple hair, and big, round hazel eyes, and a frozen Malfoy, who unfortunately did not stay like that for long.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"


	2. Where's George?

**Disclaimer**:_ Everything (Except Aurelia) belongs to JK Rowling._

_Thanks for the reviews, and to the people who subscribed etc :)_

_It means a lot._

_Here it is, I hope you enjoy :)_

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**_Chapter 2: Where's George?_****

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**  
Aurelia awoke with a jolt as the train shuddered to a halt. The abruptness of how she was woken made her momentarily dazed and unable to properly take in her surroundings. It was the sharp yell that brought her firmly back to earth.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Aurelia jumped up, fully awake now and ready for action, whatever action that may be. But nothing seemed wrong. Well, not _that_ wrong anyway. There _were_ two strange boys in her compartment, however. One at the other end of the compartment, near the door, and one lying in the middle of the floor, his head at her feet. That wasn't right.

_'Eh?'_

The boy near the door was around her own height, with tidy, white-blond hair. He had the most beautiful face that Aurelia had ever seen, and grey eyes, which almost bordered on silver. His Black robes bore the Slytherin crest, and his stance was very rigid, with his hands clenched into fists.

They boy on the floor was very tall and gangly; his arms and legs were all over the place. He had shaggy red hair that fell into his eyes, and bright freckles that covered his entire face. All in all, his appearance was rather comical.

But instead of laughing, Aurelia scowled. She had been having a very peaceful sleep before these two had come in and woken her up. Even if it was the train that had _technically_ woken her up. But she would have been fine, back to sleep in no time, if one of them hadn't shouted and woken her up fully.

The three of them were very still, staring at each other.

_'Pathetic boys. Not even an apology And don't they know it's rude to stare?'_

Eventually Aurelia sat down and closed her eyes once again, preparing to go back to sleep.

"You can close the door on your way out," she said, without a trace of emotion in her voice.

Silence.

Neither of the boys appeared to have moved._ 'Are they deaf or something?' _Aurelia opened one eye to peer at the two boys.

The blond was openly fuming now; his grey eyes squinting at her and his shoulders trembling. The ginger one was still on the floor, staring up at her in both confusement and amusement.

Aurelia sighed. Yes, she hated people. But what she hated more than just people was idiotic, teenage _boys_. Who, it seemed, appeared to be deaf.

"I said, you can close the door on your way out."

She closed her eyes again and waited for them go to. She would not acknowledge them further. She shouldn't _need_ to acknowledge them further, they should just go and leave her in peace like she had asked.

She just wanted to be _alone_. Could nobody understand that? Her parents certainly didn't, nor her previous teachers, and apparently not these two boys. If she had to tell them once more...

The door opened, and a loud stomping indicated that one of them had walked out. Then the door slammed shut.

_One_ of them had gotten the hint at least.

Aurelia opened her eyes properly this time, to look right at the ginger boy with the rather comical appearance, who had apparently, very quietly, moved so that he was now sitting exactly opposite her.

She still didn't laugh, but scowled again. The boy was grinning at her, obviously finding the situation very funny.

Aurelia pressed her lips together tightly and sighed in frustration.

_'Very well, if he wont go...'_

She closed her eyes again and rested her head back against the seat, where it had previously been.

_'A McKenzie would not lower them self to any form of begging.' _Though in truth, she did not feel like very much of a McKenzie at that moment. She just wanted him gone, even if it actually meant asking him politely. She just wanted to be alone.

But she did as she was taught, and ignored the boy while waiting for the train to start moving again.

She was too focused on ignoring the boy to even care about why the train had stopped in the first place.

*****

_'Bloody Weasley boy. What was he doing up there in the luggage space? And that _girl. _How dare she, how dare _she_, a Griffindor, talk to _me_ like that... especially in that tone of voice. How dare she!'_

After slamming the door, Draco began walking back down the train in the direction he had come, back towards his original compartment, too wrapped up in being angry with the purple-haired girl to remember why had left it in the first place.

_'And that _scowl_! Who does she think she is, scowling at _me_ like that? Though it seems rather familiar.... hold on, that's _my_ scowl! And that tone of voice, that's how_ I_ speak! How dare she _copy_ me like that? Who does she think she is?'_

But although Draco was fuming, he still managed to find the girl even more alluring.

_'That spunk... with that appearance... she would be the perfect prize... for an interesting game...'_

"Ouch!" Draco landed on the floor with a thump.

"Draco? Uhh.. Oh, Draco!" mummbled Crabbe, who Draco had apparently walked into. He held out a hand, which Draco took, and lifted him up.

Draco scowled. "Watch where your going next time."

Crabbe shuffled his feet awkwardly "S-sorry."

"Never mind. Come on, I want to find out why the train's stopped."

*****

The train had started to move again, and Fred was still sitting staring at the girl.

She was obviously ignoring him, as when he hadn't taken her hints and left, she had sighed and gone back to sleep. At least, he _thought_ she'd gone back to sleep. If not, then she was doing a really good job of ignoring him.

He waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing.

She really was very pretty, whoever she was, but her manners needed some working on.

There weren't many people that looked like her at Hogwarts, so she'd stand out quite a bit. But the look did suit her.

Fred had never liked girls with lots of piercings, but the hoop through her nose was delicate, and still made her look feminine.

He also noticed that she wore Griffindor robes, which meant that she was in the same house as him. Which also meant that he would be seeing her around a lot. Fred smiled at the thought, though he didn't know why.

_'It's a shame she's sleeping,' _thought Fred. _'She has the most gorgeous eyes...' _

Just then, the door was thrust open by an angry, and very exhausted, George.

The girl jumped, and scowled that cute little scowl of hers, but didn't open her eyes. _'Well, she's certainly not asleep _now_.'_

"Half an hour I've been chasing this bloody train. Was lucky my stuff wasn't on yet. Mum's sending it along later. I was flying alongside the train till that bloody driver_ finally_ decided to stop and let me on! Was having a right good laugh at me he was. Said it was my own fault that I was late. Wasn't _my_ fault I was late though was it? After _you_ bloody ran off and left me to get all the blame. Mum was shouting at me for ages. _Then_ I couldn't find you! Found Lee and Seamus and Dean, but they said they didn't know where you were. Said they hadn't even seen you. But your hiding away in here..." ranted George as he took a seat next to Fred "...with a girl? Who's she then?"

George finally stopped to breath, leaving Fred to answer the question.

"Dunno. When I left you I came and hid in here, in the luggage space. I was going to jump out on you, but you never came. I started panicking when the train started moving, but thought you were probably getting your own back on me somehow, then next thing I know the train stops and I'm hurled out onto the floor, in between Malfoy and _her_. Dunno where the git is now. And I don't know who she is either, but I think she's pretending to sleep" said Fred, as quietly as possible.

But the girl had heard him. There it was again, that scowl.

"Pretending? Why would she be _pretending_ to sleep?" asked George.

"To try and _ignore_ the people that keep disturbing me," said the girl, her voice even.

"Ohh, would you like us to leave, then?" mocked George.

"Yes!" she almost screamed. She was clearly very frustrated by now.

"Well then I guess we'd better go," He said in the same tone. "Come on Fred, Lee'll be wondering where we are. What's the point in watching a sleeping girl anyway?"

George was halfway out the door, still talking, before Fred got up to follow him. Before closing the door behind him, he couldn't resist one last glance at the girl, who hadn't moved an inch.


	3. The Game Begins

**Disclaimer**:_ Everything (Except Aurelia) belongs to JK Rowling._

_Sorry this took so long, I couldn't seem to get it right _:|

_Anyway, thanks for all those you reviewed etc :)_

_Here you go, hope you enjoy!_

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_**Chapter 3: The Game Begins**_

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A shuddering jolt awoke Aurelia for a second time that day, but this time telling her that she had finally reached her destination. Through the foggy window she could just make out the outline of a castle: a great hulk looming over her.

Aurelia sat there for a few moments, staring at it, and trying to take in the fact that this would be her new home, while the rest of the students bustled about in an attempt to get of the train first.

But she couldn't do it. No matter how many times she told herself 'this is my new home', the fact wouldn't seem to register in her mind. It was as if part of her still believed that she could get out of it somehow.

She was brought out of her reverie by a light tapping on the carriage door, and soft, kind voice.

"We're here."

Aurelia looked up. Sad brown eyes met warm green eyes and a flicker of electricity seemed to pass through the two teenagers.

There was something about that moment, something that made her feel...happy, really happy, that made Aurelia smile. And the ginger boy smiled back.

But the moment didn't last long. Somebody bumped into the boy, causing their eye contact to break and she stopped smiling.

Frowning, Aurelia stood up. "Yes, I know we're here," she said, rather grumpily, and she stormed past him, joining her place in the slow-moving queue.

She tried to put the annoying boy out of her head, but for some reason, all she really wanted to do was turn around and stare back into his eyes. As she moved down the queue, Aurelia debated with herself whether or not she should turn round. Eventually she did, and came face to face, or rather face to _faces_, with a pair of identical green eyes, and shaggy red hair. One was looking rather dreamily at her, and the other was smirking, as if he'd never found anything else as hilarious in his life.

Aurelia frowned, confused, before she was flat on her back, looking up at the blond boy from before

_'Jeez. I can see this happening all year.'_

"Watch where you're going Griffindor," he said in a bored tone, before stalking off.

Aurelia scowled, and pushed herself back onto her feet. And there was that boy again smirking at her. But there was only one of him. Did she imagine the other boy?

"You again!?"

"Me again?"

"Uh! You're not going to leave me alone this year are you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"I'm not?" the boy asked puzzled, though he was still smirking. "I don't even know who you are."

"And you bloody well don't need to know," she snapped, walking off along the train, which was now completely deserted.

"Well, I'm George. And you.. you're new," he stated.

"And?" she replied, frustrated.

"And," he said "You're walking in the wrong direction." He chuckled.

Aurelia stopped and sighed angrily. Closing her eyes she began mentally counting back from ten to try and calm herself.

"Will you not just leave me alone?"

"Come on, I'll show you where to go," and, without waiting for a reply, the boy George grabbed her hand and began pulling her in the opposite direction, all the while still chuckling to himself.

*****

Fred watched as his twin brother pulled the purple haired girl through the fog, rather unwillingly by the looks of it, and into one of the carriages. They had managed to get one to themselves as they were the last off the train, and Fred desperately wanted to know _why_ they were the last off. The girl looked very grumpy about it.

Fred, who had gotten fed up waiting for George, was sharing a carriage with Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Both couples were holding hands and talking excitedly to their other-halves.

_'Depressing much?'_ thought Fred, who had been single since Angelina had dumped him in his fifth year. Sure, he had had flings, but nothing that had lasted long, or been _meaningful_.

For Fred the journey carried on in silence. He tried not to listen to the others talking, and none of them tried to speak to him, so he didn't speak at all. Instead he watched George try and speak to the girl. At first she wouldn't speak, but after a while she seemed to give in and start talking. She didn't notice him watching, and not once did George turn round to look for him.

He was angry, but only slightly. Because he didn't really have any right to by angry. He hadn't told his brother that he liked the girl... _'Oh i wish i knew her name...'_ but they were twins, he usually just knew these things anyway.

And OK, maybe he didn't actually _know_ the girl... but there was something about her, something that made him instantly fall for her...

But Fred knew that, even though George had gone off with the girl, he didn't want her for himself. George didn't want _any_ girl for himself.

When they finally reached the castle, Fred made his way though to the Great Hall with everyone else, taking a seat next to Dean Thomas.

"Whats up with you?" said Dean "You've got that look in your eye, and not the one you usually have."

"What look? What do you mean?" Fred asked, puzzled.

"Well you've got that hopeful look in your eye, but you also look quite grumpy," he said, slightly puzzled himself. "Like... like a hopeful, grumpy little puppy-dog."

Dean looked at him, trying not to put any expression into his face, only to burst out laughing a few seconds later, causing him to almost fall out of his seat.

_'A hopeful, grumpy little puppy-dog?! Jeez, when have I ever gotten like this over a girl? Especially one I don't even know...'_

Fred's thoughts were cut off as George and the girl walked in and took a seat at the far end of the table. The pair were chatting away now, though the girl still wasn't smiling. Well, she was with her mouth, but not with her eyes, which still looked sad.

_'No, her smile now is nothing like the one she gave me on the train, which lit up her whole face... No, that's not a smile at all.'_ And the thought made Fred sad. Why wouldn't she smile?

"Oi" Dean nudged him. "Dumbledore's speech had started and you're not even listening. What are you thinking about mate? Tell me later." he said, as Professor McGonnogal, the strict Transfiguration teacher, was glaring at the pair of them.

The speech this year was short and sweet, and Fred only heard the end of it, which was Dumbledore telling them all about the importance of friendship, and not deliberately seeking enemies where friends could be found...

Fred never usually understood these speeches.

Then there was the sorting, which he _never_ paid any attention to, like most of the student body, so Dean took this as a perfect opportunity to ask him again what was on his mind.

"Nothing." he said _'Well, it's not as if there's really much to tell.'_

"Nothing? C'mon you can do better than that. I know there's _something_ on your mind. And where's Georgie then? Ah, there he is," he said, finally spotting George at the end of the table. "And who's he talking to? Some girl by the looks of it. I don't recognize her, do you?"

"No," said Fred, though it was quite clear by the look on his face that he did indeed recognize the girl.

But Dean wasn't looking at Fred's face. "Hm he doesn't look as if he wants to be interrupted. But I always thought... never mind," he said, blushing, and a sad expression passed over his face.

Seeing his friend unhappy, Fred sighed. He knew that Dean liked his brother, and that his brother liked Dean. But no matter how many hints he dropped them both, neither of them had gone for it. But George was leaving after this year, and Dean, being only in fifth year, was staying on.

Fred desperately wanted to see the two of them together, because he knew it was what both of them wanted.

_'This year, it will happen. I promise you both.'_

*****

Once the train was moving again, Draco took Blaise aside, making sure they were out of earshot of Pansy, and told him exactly what had just happened.

"...and then that Weasel idiot, no not Potter's sidekick, one of the twins, fell out of the luggage space, and she just glares at the both us and says _'You can close the door on your way out'_"

"Ha, she seems almost like you, actually," chuckled Blaise, hoping to offend him slightly with the remark. Though the pair of them were close friends, they couldn't help making jibes at each other all the time.

But to Blaise's surprise, Draco screamed "Exactly," with a mischievous glint in his eye. Pansy turned towards them, curiosity showing clearly on her face, but she knew better than to interrupt them when the they were talking like this.

"Wow, she's really gotten to you, hasn't she? Whoever she is." Blaise stifled a laugh. Draco may not know who the girl was, but from Draco's description Blaise certainly did. He wasn't about to let that on to Draco, however. "So what do you purpose we do?"

"I. Not we, this time I'm afraid. I purpose a game. But I'm not willing to share the prize."

The prize, of course, would be a night with this mysterious girl.

"You're willing to make a game out of her?" asked Blaise, amused.

"Of course! She's like, the female Griffindor version of me. She would be the _perfect_ game." Draco watched his friend ponder the idea.

"Sure you're not willing to share? It sounds like an interesting game."

"I'm sure Blaise. She's mine, whatever it takes. And plus, I wouldn't like my chances against you... I know from experience you play dirty," he said, glaring at him.

"Fine," huffed Blaise, putting on an air of defeat. In truth, he wasn't that bothered. Either way, this was bound to be hilarious. "So how do you plan on winning her over?"

"That, you'll just have to wait and see."

Draco knew Blaise hated when he kept secrets from him, but he didn't actually have a plan yet, and he knew Blaise would laugh at him if he told him this.

But Blaise just laughed at him anyway, a look of pure amazement showing in her face. But what was so funny, Draco had no idea.

"Well, good luck with that mate, I think you'll need it," he said and, still chuckling, went back to the book he had been reading while Draco had been away.

"Hmph. I don't need luck. I'm a Malfoy, and Malfoy's don't loose."

Draco spent the rest of the journey thinking of ways to win the girl over. Though he would never admit it to Blaise in a million years, there was more to this game than just shagging the girl at the end. There was more to this girl, so therefore, there was more to this game.

_'It won't be easy, what with the rivalry between the houses. But she's new, that's obvious, so she might not know about that. Hmm but I'm sure someone will fill her in... If I'm too nice she might get suspicious...but if i'm too...myself...it might scare her away...'_

Draco had never gone after girls in similar ways to this, competing with Blaise for the shag at the end. But this time it was different. There was to be no competition, and the prize would certainly be different.

But why? Well it was everything about her, everything that made her so unlike Pansy, so unlike all those other girls he had gotten tired off so long ago.

But how to charm her? She certainly didn't look like she would be bought over by presents, which Draco was thankful for. _'That would be too easy'._

No, he appreciated the fact that she would be a challenge. Draco enjoyed a good challenge.

Draco was still going over everything in his head, the best way for him to get her to notice his properly, which was the first step in the game, when the train stopped.

_'I have to make her see past the whole Slytherin facade before things can go any further, and the game can really get going.'_

Draco, not paying the slightest bit of attention to what was going on around him, followed Blaise out of the compartment and past the queue for the door, which let them both pass, not without complaint.

It was only when Draco bumped into something that he started to pay attention. Glancing down briefly at the person he had knocked over he said "Watch where you're going, Griffindor," before walking off.

_'Wait... Griffindor... with purple hair?!"_

it was only after he had gotten off the train that Draco realized who he had knocked over, and he about kicked himself.

_'Way to go Draco. Nice first impression... or second... oh whatever'_

"Nice," said a laughing Blaise from behind him. "Very nice."

Draco scowled and walked off in the direction off the castle.

*****

Blaise carried on standing on the platform, laughing to himself, for a few moments after Draco had walked off.

_'Yes, this really will be hilarious. Much better to be on the sidelines than the actual game for this one. Draco has no idea what he's getting into. Aurelia McKenzie? He must be mental. But if he doesn't know who she is, then I'm not surprised. And it's not as if he needs any more competition either. That George Weasly couldn't seem to take his eyes off her back there. Oh, if either of them knew her like I do. I must go find her after dinner. We have a lot of catching up to do..."_


	4. New Beginnings

**Disclaimer**:_ Everything (Except Aurelia) belongs to JK Rowling._

_Thanks for the reviews guys :)_

_But I've definitely seen stranger things than a G/D pairing ;)_

_Enjoy!_

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**Chapter 4: New Beginnings  
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It wasn't long before Aurelia warmed up to George. Though she did try not to show it. It wasn't usually her nature to be _nice._

He spend the whole of the journey up to the castle talking to her about, well, _everything_.

He started off with himself. Aurelia learned all about his large family, and found out that no, she had not imagined the second, identical boy before on the train. That was in fact George's twin brother, Fred, who apparently helped him wreak havoc on the castle.

Aurelia liked the sound of George's family. She could tell he loved them dearly, especially his brother Fred. It made her feel lonely. She was an only child, and very rarely saw her parents. She had grown up without any proper family, only the family she had chosen for herself. Maybe that was why she did many of the things she did.

But she pushed those thoughts from her mind. This was a time for new beginnings. It certainly was not a time for remembering the past.

_'Unless Blaise has anything to do with it. Note to self: try and stay away from Blaise this year.'_

As George carried on talking, Aurelia seemed to relax a bit more in her surroundings. Her worries of starting a new school gradually melted away.

It wasn't until they finally reached the castle that George asked Aurelia about herself.

"So," he said, "what's your story?"

Taking in the marvelous scene of the Great Hall, with the enchanted ceiling a vast darkness, scattered with shining stars, she took a seat next to George. Taking a moment to reflect on the question, she stared at the stars, completely mesmerized.

"My story? What do you mean, exactly?" she asked carefully, all the while still staring up into the sky. She was transfixed. It was so beautiful, like an endless void, but full of bright lights, like little pinpricks of hope. Maybe it _was_ a time for remembering. For sharing. It was as if _she_ was that endless void, and the little bits of hope that she had kept bottled up inside of herself for so long were finally ready to shine through.

Hope that one day things would finally work out.

Hope that one day she could tell somebody all the things she had done, and tell them why.

Hope that one day that person would understand.

"My story? Well, I..."

But she was interrupted.

"Welcome students!" shouted an elderly, but still somewhat carefree voice.

Aurelia stopped staring at the ceiling, having been brought back to earth by Dumbledore's voice. It had been a long time since she had seen him, and she had almost forgotten that he would be here. Although how she could have forgotten, she didn't know. It was, after all, Dumbledore who had gotten her a place here at Hogwarts.

_'Yes here at last. Though if they had let me come in first year... well. Things would have been a lot different.'_

Aurelia listened intently to Dumbledore's speech, though she, like the rest of the students, couldn't really make head nor tail of it.

From the corner of her eye she could see that George was still watching her expectantly. But no, no matter what that magic ceiling was telling her, this was definitely not a time for remembering. And definitely not a time for sharing.

_'New beginnings.'_

"So... your story?" George asked again, after the speech was over.

"My story," she repeated. "My story really isn't that interesting," she lied.

A slight frown appeared on George's face and he cocked an eyebrow, as though he didn't believe her.

"Still," he said, "I've said spend ages telling you all about myself. And you having _nothing_ to say about yourself? You haven't even told me your name!" he said, quite taken aback.

"Well," Aurelia started. She didn't want to lie to him, so she would tell him the basics. The bare minimum.

"Aurelia McKenzie," she said simply. A look of _almost_ recognition passed over George's face. But she carried on.

"Unlike you I am an only child. I grew up just outside of Edinburgh, and was home schooled up until the Summer. It was felt that I needed... a change of scenery."

George looked at her curiously.

"Ok," he said at last, and he grinned wildly at her, like on the train. "Ok," he repeated.

Just then, Aurelia heard lots of tiny gasps, which appeared to have come from the new first year students. She turned round to try and find out the reason and almost gasped herself when she realized the table was now full of food. And not just full, but fit to burst.

All the while she had been talking to George she had kept her posture perfect and her face blank, as she had been taught, but she knew her eyes must be giving her away. They were bulging at the sight. _'Well, I haven't eaten since breakfast.'_ And then her stomach growled, hungrily.

George gave her a cheeky look, "Dig in."

Aurelia wasn't sure if George had been flirting with her or not. But she didn't like that grin he kept flashing her.

Doing as she was told Aurelia tucked in, grabbing all sorts of different food. Her eating habits were_ not_ as graceful as the rest of her.

She was fit to burst when she finally finished and was glad when they were finally excused for the night, as she was longing for sleep.

Aurelia followed George out of the hall, not entirely sure where she was going. She was supposed to wait for a professor McGonogall in the Entrance Hall, as far as she remembered from Dumbledore's last letter. So, after bidding a polite goodnight to George, she found a quiet corner in the Entrance Hall to wait for everyone to clear of to bed, so she could find the professor.

However, it was not Professor McGonogall that ended up showing her to her rooms.

Aurelia froze when she felt a pair of muscled arms wrap themselves around her.

*****

Draco stared up at the enchanted ceiling, waiting for the food to appear. He heard Blaise yawn next to him.

Blaise had caught up with Draco while he waited for a free carriage, and they had ended up in one together, neither speaking a word the whole way up to the school.

But Blaise broke the silence now, to show that all was well between them, by nudging Draco sharply in the ribs and whispering "won't he hurry up? I'm starving."

Professor McGonogall's eyes flickered towards them in warning. _'That woman has extraordinary hearing'_

Once the food finally arrived, both boys tucked in.

Halfway through the meal Blaise asked "Is that her?" while pointing over to the Griffindor table.

Draco, deliberately lazily, followed his friends finger to find Her, and said "Yes."

Blaise smirked and chuckled. "Then it looks as if it wasn't me you had to worry about. You have other competition," he said, pointing first to one of the Weasley twins, who was chatting away to the girl, then to the other twin, further down the table, who appeared to be glaring at the chatting pair.

"Competition from a Weasley? I don't think so," replied Draco, in a bored tone. _'But I better keep my eye on them just in case.'_

Bellies full, the two boys exited the Great Hall fully prepared to go straight to bed. Well, Draco was. It appeared Blaise had other plans.

Once in the Entrance Hall, Blaise did not follow Draco in the direction of the Slytherin dungeons, but instead exclaimed "Ah, ha!" and walked off in the complete opposite direction, towards a seemingly empty corner.

However the corner wasn't empty. Leaning against the stone wall, with a faintly lonely expression on her face that she was clearly trying to hide, stood the Girl.

When Draco realized that Blaise was walking straight towards her, the blood left his face in horror. _'He's going to blow this for me right here, right now, isn't he. Dammit Draco, you shouldn't have pointed out who she was!'_

But Blaise did something completely unexpected. He walked straight up to the girl, who was looking in the other direction, and wrapped his tanned arms around her in a tight embrace.

*****

When Fred laid his fork and knife down onto his plate at last, it disappeared along with the other empty plates.

"Now off to bed," said Dumbledore in his gentle voice, "You all have an early start tomorrow morning."

Fred let out a yawn. "Yep, off to bed Dean, I'm shattered." Dean yawned in agreement, and the pair rose sleepily to follow the rest of the students out of the Great Hall. It was times like these that Fred really hated the fact that the climb to Griffindor Tower was so long.

Wearily, Fred trudged through the Entrance Hall towards the staircase, not caring about anything other than sleep.

However, that was only until Dean said "There's that girl that George was talking to, but what's she doing hugging Zabini?"


	5. Bumping into Blaise

**Disclaimer: **_Everything (apart from the OC Aurelia) belongs to JK Rowling._

_Sorry I took an age to write this! It took me a while to decide which direction I wanted to go.  
_

_I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**_Chapter five: Bumping into Blaise_**

* * *

Aurelia turned sharply to see who had embraced her. Her eyes fell upon someone she had been hopeing to avoid for as long as possible. Blaise. She knew that the way he had wrapped his arms around her was to give the impression that they were old friends, which in a sense they were. She knew how much Blaise liked to show off, especially about his connections, so this show of friendship towards her as the new girl did not surprise her very much. What she could also see, but which others most likely could not, was the look of amusement on his face.

She did not know whether it was his embrace or the look on his face that annoyed her the most.

"What a surprise to see you here. You never said anything to me about this! But then again, you have't said anything to me about, well, _anything_ in such a long time..." Blaise whispered into her ear. His tone was light, with only a slight hint of annoyance.

"You know why." Aurelia replied, letting _her_ annoyance show clearly in her voice. "After last time, after what happened... i'm not saying it was all your fault, but I needed to keep my distance. I still DO need to keep my distance. Surely you can understand that we can't be how we used to be. It's the whole reason why i'm here."

"It was an accident, you know that!"

"Yes, I know that, but it should have never gotten that far in the first place. We caused a lot of damage..."

"OK. Just... promise me you wont go telling anyone what happened. I can see you getting close to people already, which I know is unlike you. You never know, this place may really be what it takes to change you," he snorted. "One more thing," he said, while glancing around at all the faces that were peering curiously at the pair. "Watch out for Draco"

And with that, he sauntered off.

* * *

"There's that girl that George was talking to, but what's she doing hugging Zabini?"

This made Fred stop dead. "She's doing what?"

"Look for yourself mate," Dean said, pointing at the pair. Sure enough, there was the girl from the train, hugging one of the gits from Slytherin. What was going on here?

Without thinking, Fred started walking again, towards the pair. As he got closer, he could see that while they were embraced, they were whispering to each other. He could see their mouths moving, but was too far away to hear what they were saying. Whatever it was though, it didn't seem to be good, as the girl was frowning as she spoke. When Fred was merely a couple of feet away, Zabini pulled away and started walking towards the dungeons, leaving the girl looking rather bewildered.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked.  
The girl turned to him, her frown momuntarily leaving her face. "Yes, i'm fine." she snapped. Either this was her usual attitude, which wasn't unlikely, or Zabini had said something to her that had unsettled her a great deal. She did not move, but stood rooted to the spot.

"Aren't you going back to your dorm?"

"I'm waiting for Professor McGonnegal to show me where to go."

Fred looked over his shoulder to see McGonnegal in deep conversation with Professor Dumbledore and decided to help her out.

"Well if you're in Griffindor, then you're in the tower. I'll show you were you're going."

The girl looked at him, and eventually sighed in acceptance. "Ok"

As they began walking towards the dorms, Fred asked, "What's your name?"

The girl turned to him, and with an almost-smile said "Aurelia."

* * *

Draco stood there and watched this embrace with a blank face. He was far too confused. Did Blaise know this girl, or was he just trying to put one over on him?

When Blaise eventually let go of the girl and began to walk back to in the direction of the dorms, Draco finally moved.

At first, Blaise was walking slow, but when he noticed Draco following him, he began so speed up. What was he doing?

Draco continued to follow him down into the dungeons, into the common room and into the dorm. Blaise was just trying to close the curtain around his bed when Draco appeared, and caught the curtain before Blaise could close it fully.

"Care to explain?" Draco asked snidely.

The look on Blaise's face answered Draco's question.

"In the morning." he replied, the tone of his voice betraying no emotion. "For now, lets just say that the girl you're so willing to make a game out of is an old friend of mine. You'll want to be careful with her."

And with that he grinned mischieviously, and yanked the curtain out of Draco's hand to close it fully, leaving Draco more confused than he was when he had entered the dorm.


End file.
